Improved Vector/Drawing Tools

The Draw, Text, and Preset Shapes tools can now use patterns, textures, and gradients for the Stroke and Fill Styles. The style and texture are controlled from the Color Palette, just set the color, gradient or texture you want and the line is drawn to your specifications! Don't care for the pre-set lines? Create your own! Customized lines can also be saved and reloaded for easy reuse.

 
 
 
The text box has all of the capabilities of the lines and presets but the style and texture is controlled from within the Text dialog box. The exception to this is the line stroke. If you desire a thicker line around your text set the line thickness in the Line Tool Option dialog box before opening the Text dialog box.

Presets

Jasc has included 375 presets, (if you can trust my count), including shapes, buttons, callouts (cartoon bubbles), and ding-bats. In fact, the presets are a ding-bat lovers delight! The buttons are wonderful, especially if you're in a hurry to create that web page. There are several different styles, shapes and colors. And of course, all of it is editable so if you don't care for Jasc's color or shape you can always change it. Arrows come in every shape, size and color! Well..... ok, the arrows only come in two styles of gradient color and black, but you're not locked in to those colors. Just un-check the Retain style box and add your own touch!

Vector objects can also now be grouped, aligned, distributed, arranged and resized in relation to other vector objects with the Object Selector. As a bonus, not all of the objects have to be the same. Create as many different vector objects as you like, select them all and the Object Selector will handle it from there!

color palette

Perhaps the color palette is the best of the new features, but can it really be called a color palette any more since it is so much more? Not only do we have control of the colors from this palette but now we have control of gradients, textures, patterns and more.

Mix and match is the keyword. Need a gradient with a texture? You've got it. The right click no longer reverses the colors of a gradient (although it can); instead it can be used to work with an entirely different gradient, texture or pattern, leaving your first gradient/texture mix intact on the left button. You can even change tools without losing your palette setup simply by checking the lock box! Or, leave the box unchecked and PSP will remember your last settings for each individual tool!

Need precise colors? The color palette can now be set to display the document palette, which is only those colors that appear in the open document, rather than the full color spectrum.

New Effects
Into the Beyond with PSP7
New Productivity Tools